Stragetically Choosing the Perfect Snowboard Without Breaking the Bank

There's plenty of articles out there about how to choose your board. But, after reading review after review after review. But in the end, which board is really right for you? And how can you find out before you spend a lot of money on buying one that you end up hating?



Beginners to Intermediate Snowboarders: Forget buying, Rent Your Snowboard


Forget about buying a new snowboard. If you are the type to go out maybe 2 days a season, just rent a basic snowboard package at your local ski & snowboard shop. Basically, if you are going to be on the bunny slopes, you don't need anything fancy, you just need something to learn on the cheapest way possible.

Season rentals of snowboards from your local ski shop is the way to go if you are a beginner (green and easy blues), and you know you'll be on the slopes for 4+ days this season. It's much cheaper then renting at the ski resort by day, and it gives you a chance to learn your board for the season. You probably still won't care too much about what kind of board you'll get. The ski shop will ask you for any preferences and set you up accordingly. If you like your board, usually you have the option to buy it from the ski shop at the end of the season for cheap.

Rentals mean you aren't committing a lot of money into gear that you can potentially outgrow as you get better. And if you hate snowboard after your first season, well, you aren't stuck with something you spent a lot of money on.

Intermediate to Intermediate Snowboarders: Maybe it's time to buy

This is a tough tough crowd. You've moved beyond the greens and easy blues, but maybe you still got some ways to go before you are going down harder blacks and double blacks and even moguls. This is where you can start buying your own board. Chances are, you still want a softer more forgiving board that will allow you to continue to progress at the sport without outgrowing it.

Seasonal rentals are still an option for you, as long as your local ski shop carries quality boards for new intermediate riders. Now, we're talking about not renting those banged up pieces of wood anymore.

Buying a used setup from Craigslist, old demo boards from ski shops or a new board from previous years' models are good options. Generally, you won't want to go over $250-$400 for your entire setup (board, bindings and boots) just yet.

Advanced Intermediate to Expert Snowboarders: Time to buy

By this point, you know your riding style. You know what you like, what you don't like. You can feel the difference between one board to the next. So time to pick a board to buy.

A high end snowboard is expensive, so before you sink money into buying a new board, you want to know if it's the right one for you. Demo-ing brand new snowboards from ski shops and at the resorts is a good way to test drive a board before you buy. Some shops will allow you to demo multiple boards in one day, and credit the cost of the Demo Rental towards your purchase of the board if you choice to buy with them. And if you end up demoing the different boards the entire season before deciding what to buy - No worries, you can probably find the board that you like at a bigger discount during the end of season sale or at sales at the beginning of next season.

Yes, demoing a lot of boards through the winter season can add up. However, you should view is as an investment into finding the perfect board for you and a way to avoid the buyer's remorse afterwards.